DAYTON, Ohio (AP/WDTN) — Americans stepped up their home purchases in June by a robust 20.7% after the pandemic had caused sales to crater in the prior three months. This includes the Dayton area, where average sale prices climbed over $200,000.

June topped off the first half of 2020 which saw the sale of 7,378 single-family homes and condominiums, which is down around five percent from last years June total of 7,776.

According to Dayton Realtors, listings submitted in the month of June dropped roughly 7.5 percent from June 2019. For the January to June period, 9,471 listings were entered which is a 9.75 percent decrease from the same period last year.

At the same time, housing has managed to avoid a deeper slump from the severe recession caused by the coronavirus. Demand has remained strong among buyers who have managed to weather the downturn, while record-low mortgage rates have helped sustain affordability.

“Buyers are out in force, but new listings remain the key to housing’s recovery,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “More sellers are needed before we’ll see year over year gains in home sales.”